HRH The Princess of Wales and Chief Scout Dwayne Fields Lead Lake District Adventure

A newly shared film shows Joint President, HRH The Princess of Wales and Chief Scout, Dwayne Fields leading nine Scouts and Explorers for a hike at Scout Adventures, Great Tower, in the heart of the Lake District. The film is being shared on social media to inspire more people to get into nature and consider volunteering for Scouts.

Together, the team planned their route and then walked through woodland up to the Tower Rock, exploring the natural environment before heading down to the shores of Lake Windermere. The Princess awarded the young people their Naturalist badge for getting to know the plant and wildlife of the area. They reflected on the wellbeing benefits of being in nature, and the positive impact of Scouts on their lives, building confidence, self-belief and key skills.

The team was made up of four Explorer Scouts from 1st Buddha’s Light Scout Group, in Stretford, Greater Manchester and five Scouts from 1st Ulverston Scouts from Cumbria.

A return to the Lakes

It was a return to the Lake District for The Princess, who completed her Scout volunteer training there at Scouts Great Tower Activity centre in 2013. She volunteered with Scouts in Anglesey at the time. She’s remained a fantastic supporter of Scouts since then and became Joint President in September 2020. This was the Princess’ first meeting with the Chief Scout, who she personally welcomed when he became the 11th Chief Scout in September 2024.

‘The Scouts is such an incredible organization,’ she said, ‘teaching #SkillsForLife and making a huge difference to young people across the country. Looking forward to working with you! C.’

During the film, The Princess of Wales says: ‘I find it a very spiritual and very intense emotional reconnection I suppose, these environments. Not everyone has that same relationship perhaps with nature, but it is so therefore meaningful for me as a place to balance and find a sort of sense of peace and reconnection in what is otherwise a very busy world.‘

At our best in the outdoors

Dwayne said: ‘It was an absolute honour for us to be joined by our Joint President, The Princess of Wales at Great Tower. Our hike with Scouts and Explorers in the Lakes was a reminder that we’re at our best in the outdoors. We share a strong belief that spending time in nature boosts our physical and mental wellbeing. The resilience and positivity shown by the Princess and the Scouts and Explorers was so impressive. We want as many young people to experience outdoor adventures like this for themselves.

But that’s only possible when we have enough volunteers locally to welcome the 100,000 young people on our waiting lists. The good news is that people can volunteer on a flexible basis, boosting their skills, wellbeing and making new friends. I hope people will be inspired by our Lake District adventure and join Scouts.’

UK Chief Volunteer, Carl Hankinson said: ‘Thank you to our Joint President for supporting us. It was wonderful to see her inspiring and supporting young people, alongside our Chief Scout highlighting the opportunities for Scouts of all backgrounds to get into the outdoors and gain skills for life. We hope it will inspire more young people and volunteers to step up and get involved too.’